In a bizarre turn of events, Arwind Santos saw a mirror of himself in the eventful Game 5 of the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup Finals between the San Miguel Beermen and Magnolia Hotshots, Friday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
But admittedly, he was not happy.
Dubbed as the ‘Spider-Man’ in the PBA due to his acrobatic dunks, Santos rued the improper act of a fan in a costume who came out of nowhere and disrupted the thrilling Finals battle.
“Maganda pag-usapan sana kung nanalo kami ‘no? Pangit tignan dahil binunggo niya si June Mar. Lahat kami gigil na sa kanya,” said Santos of the unlikely incident, which happened in the 3:06 mark of the payoff period.
“[Pero] naawa rin ako nung kinukuyog siya sa bench namin. Inawat ko na lang yung mga ibang teammates ko kasi galit na nga.”
The Beermen were in the middle of an uprising against the Hotshots. Then the fan – who, according to security, came all the way from the lower box section – suddenly stormed onto the center court unnoticed, bumping June Mar Fajardo and hurting him in the process.
Venue bouncers then immediately secured the still-anonymous man. He was later on brought to the security room of the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Spiderman’s cameo proved to be beneficial for the Beermen at first, since they went on a 10-2 run punctuated by Terrence Romeo’s triple to tie the game at 86-all with still 1:24 to go.
“Medyo natutuwa na nga kami dahil naka-lamang na kami nung pumasok siya,” added Santos, who finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
In the end, however, San Miguel were caught – not by the Spiderman cosplayer’s web, but by the miracle of Mark Barroca. The Hotshots player nailed a buzzer-beater to tow the Hotshots to a huge 88-86 Game 5 win.
“Kaya lang, hindi naman pwede sisihin ang pagkatalo namin kay Spiderman. Dapat naka-alert mga security guard natin dun, paano naka-pasok sa gitna? Kami, nakita na lang namin sa gitna, sa’n nanggaling?” Santos admitted.
“Ibang klase idea niya no? Talagang nakakagulat naman talaga. Wala silang pakialam kung makaka-istorbo sila o makakasira ng ganitong klaseng event.”
Still, this stunt – and more importantly, their loss – is already a thing of the past, according to Arwind. Instead, he looks forward to Game Six, to keep alive their five-peat Philippine Cup championship hopes, which are now in peril with a 2-3 series deficit.
“All in all, sayang yung laro. Siguro talagang para sa kanila. Sabi ko nga, yung mga ganung situation na may chance kami manalo, makalamang, ilang possessions yun [na] ‘di kami naka-shoot. Sa kanila din, nabagsak yung last kay Mark Barroca. Ang maganda nito, meron pa kaming chance. Hindi namin basta ibibigay ‘to. Game Six tignan natin ulit,” added the 37-year-old veteran.
“Kailangan yung faith namin kay God and trust namin sa bawa’t isa hindi mawawala. Sinusubukan lang kami.”
